Kickback, an invite-only social commerce app, launched Wednesday for iOS and Android devices to help consumers earn money to buy products from the brands they love. 

The app relies on the billions of dollars spent annually on digital advertising to create consumer loyalty, providing a financial kickback by putting money back into the pockets of consumers who make purchases and spread the word about brands.

“We started with Markett about four years ago, but it’s only an enterprise solution helping companies like Sam’s Club,” said Franky Bernstein, founder and CEO of Kickback. “About 12 months ago we started with the idea of building Kickback.”

Kickback is the consumer-facing app that runs on the Markett platform, a network of “tens of thousands of users.” Through Kickback, consumers are offered deals and cash back for shopping with brands that partner with the platform.

The money goes into a digital wallet. The community grows when members invite friends to join. Through the membership program, Kickback rewards customers and hopefully turns them into loyal brand advocates. Becoming a member provides access to exclusive promotions on favorite brands and cashback rewards even when friends shop.

Kickback recently signed deals with Nike and Sephora. Other brands available include Walmart, Sam’s Club, Nike, Alo Yoga, Reebok, Away, Planet Blue, Sonos, Winc, Postmates, Casper, Kate Somerville, Lacoste, Columbia, and more. Kickback also added Apple Music and Nordstrom Rack to the platform. 

Bernstein said consumers are likely to spend more on average when they shop with others. They also are more likely to use Instagram.

There are similar business models that use peer-to-peer marketing and allow consumers to earn money for sharing. Take Jet8, for example. In November 2019, JET8 planned to enter the United States after building a following in emerging markets, with its white-label branded social platform that allows users to earn money for sharing their content.

The Jet8 reward system — JETPoints — at the time was redeemable online or in more than 30,000 physical retail stores worldwide such as Watsons, Circle K, and 7-Eleven. The business model required brands to drop money into the consumer’s JET8 digital wallet. The consumer could then spend the money on any of the brand’s products.